The Dawn of the New RF-HySIC Semiconductor Integrated Circuits: An Initiative for Hybrid ICs Consisting of Si and Compound Semiconductors

Abstract The concept, state of the art, and future development directions of hybrid semiconductor integrated circuits (HySICs), which combine RF-CMOS ICs with compound semiconductor monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs) are described in this paper, taking up recent wireless technologies as example applications. It is shown that ICs with superior function can be designed by mixing the optimal characteristics from the different semiconductors. To realize new semiconductor ICs, several component technologies for RF-HySIC are introduced in terms of chip/MMIC design, measurement, and breadboard model fabrication. A prototype RF-HySIC is described for the combination of a GaN Schottky barrier diode with a Si RF-IC matching network developed at 5.8GHz. A GaN diode structure, measurement and characterization of nonlinear devices, a GaN amplifier, and a GaAs MMIC are introduced as component technologies. In addition, the design for using an RF-CMOS matching network circuit with a size of 1.2mm × 2.3mm and room-temperature chip/wafer direct bonding under high-pressure conditions are explained. For advanced and autonomous ICs, HySIC and chip/MMIC topologies combined with a processor are proposed for application of HySIC to wireless sensor systems. key words: hybrid semiconductor IC, RF-IC, GaN amplifier, rectifier